What is SECR?
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is the UK's mandatory energy and carbon disclosure regime for quoted companies and for larger unquoted companies and LLPs. It was created by the Companies (Directors' Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1155), made on 6 November 2018. The rules came into force on 1 April 2019 and apply to financial years beginning on or after that date.
The regulations amend existing company law rather than standing alone. They expanded Part 7 of Schedule 7 to the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, which had required quoted companies to report greenhouse gas emissions since 2013, and added a new Part 7A for unquoted companies. LLPs got a new Part 5A in the LLP accounts and audit regulations, which requires a separate energy and carbon report.
SECR came out of a 2016 package to simplify business energy and carbon rules, which also closed the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme after the 2018 to 2019 compliance year. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is the lead department. The official guidance is the Environmental Reporting Guidelines, last updated in March 2019.
Who must report under SECR?
Three groups are in scope:
- Quoted companies of any size. Under section 385 of the Companies Act 2006, a quoted company is one whose equity share capital is on the UK official list, is officially listed in an EEA state, or is admitted to dealing on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
- Unquoted companies that prepare a directors' report under the 2008 Large and Medium-sized Companies Regulations, unless they qualify for the size exemption below. This includes charitable companies, for which turnover means gross income.
- LLPs, unless they qualify for the same size exemption.
An unquoted company or LLP is exempt in a year when it meets two or more of the conditions below. Put the other way round, it must report if it exceeds at least two of them.
| Test | Exempt if | In scope if two or more are true |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £36 million or less | More than £36 million |
| Balance sheet total (total assets) | £18 million or less | More than £18 million |
| Average number of employees | 250 or fewer | More than 250 |
As with the Companies Act size rules, a change usually takes two years to alter your position. A company that has been exempt stays exempt for the first year it fails the conditions, and loses the exemption only if it fails them again the next year. A company that has been in scope generally needs to meet the conditions in two consecutive years to become exempt. Turnover is adjusted pro rata for a financial year that is not 12 months long.
A parent company applies the tests to its group, using aggregate figures: turnover of £36 million net (or £43.2 million gross), a balance sheet total of £18 million net (or £21.6 million gross) and 250 employees. If the parent is in scope, its report must cover subsidiaries in the consolidation that are quoted companies, unquoted companies or LLPs, although it can leave out information a subsidiary would not have to report on its own.
A subsidiary does not have to report separately if it is included in its parent's group report, that report is for a parent financial year ending on or before the subsidiary's year end, and the group report meets the SECR rules without relying on the ‘seriously prejudicial’ exemption.
Did the April 2025 threshold changes affect SECR?
No. The Companies (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/1303) raised the Companies Act size thresholds for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025. A company can now be medium-sized with turnover of up to £54 million and a balance sheet total of up to £27 million, up from £36 million and £18 million. The limit of 250 employees did not change.
SI 2024/1303 did not amend the SECR tests, which are written into the energy and carbon rules themselves. Its explanatory memorandum says the regulations ‘do not affect the streamlined energy and carbon reporting (“SECR”) requirements’, and that qualifying for SECR will therefore ‘no longer be aligned with qualifying as an unquoted large company or LLP under the Companies Act 2006 or the LLP Regulations’.
| Test | SECR exemption limit (unchanged) | Companies Act medium-sized limit from 6 April 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £36 million | £54 million |
| Balance sheet total | £18 million | £27 million |
| Employees | 250 | 250 |
| Group turnover | £36 million net (£43.2 million gross) | £54 million net (£64 million gross) |
| Group balance sheet total | £18 million net (£21.6 million gross) | £27 million net (£32 million gross) |
Medium-sized for your accounts can still mean in scope for SECR
Take an unquoted private company with £40 million turnover, a £20 million balance sheet total and 300 employees, this year and last. Under the 2025 thresholds it counts as medium-sized for its accounts, but it exceeds all three SECR tests, so its directors' report must still include SECR disclosures.
The 2019 government guidance describes ‘large’ by reference to the Companies Act size sections. That was accurate when it was written but no longer matches the Companies Act figures, so work from the SECR tests above. The 2026 post-implementation review also found that guidance on eligibility thresholds is not always clear enough.
What must a SECR report include?
The content depends on whether the company is quoted. Unquoted companies and LLPs must cover energy used in the UK (plus the offshore area for offshore businesses) from three sources: gas, purchased electricity and transport fuel. Quoted companies report on all their activities worldwide and say what share is in the UK.
| Requirement | Unquoted companies and LLPs | Quoted companies |
|---|---|---|
| Energy use (kWh) | Gas, purchased electricity and transport fuel used in the UK | All energy from their activities, with the UK and offshore share |
| Emissions (tCO2e) | From gas combustion and transport fuel, and from purchased electricity | From fuel combustion and the operation of any facility, and from purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling, with the UK and offshore share |
| Intensity ratio | At least one | At least one |
| Methodology | Required | Required |
| Energy efficiency action | Principal measures taken in the financial year | Principal measures taken in the financial year |
| Previous year's figures | Required, except in the first year | Required, except in the first year |
| Reporting period | State it if different from the financial year | State it if different from the financial year |
‘Gas’ is defined widely: any combustible substance that is gaseous at 15°C and a pressure of 101.325 kPa and consists wholly or mainly of methane, ethane, propane, butane, hydrogen or carbon monoxide. Transport means fuel or electricity used by road vehicles, trains, aircraft or vessels on journeys that start or end in the UK.
The government guidance says unquoted companies should include fuel used in company cars and fleet vehicles on business, fuel for business mileage in employees' own or hire cars where the company pays for it (including reimbursed mileage claims), fuel for aircraft, trains or ships the company operates, and on-site transport such as forklift trucks. Train travel, flights and taxis you do not operate, and haulage you subcontract, are not required, but you can report them voluntarily.
The law does not prescribe a calculation method, but you must state the one you used. The guidance recommends a recognised standard such as the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard or ISO 14064-1, and points to the UK Government conversion factors for company reporting.
You can choose the intensity ratio that suits your business, such as tCO2e per £1 million of revenue, per square metre of floor space or per tonne of output. The guidance says to calculate it on a consistent basis year on year and to disclose the method. If you took no energy efficiency measures in the year, the guidance says your report should say so.
The 40,000 kWh low energy user exemption and other exemptions
An unquoted company or LLP that consumed 40,000 kWh of energy or less in the UK during the financial year covered by the report does not have to give the detailed figures. Its report must instead state that the information is not disclosed for that reason. For a quoted company the 40,000 kWh test applies to all the energy it consumed, not just UK use. In a group report the test covers the parent and the subsidiaries in the consolidation that are quoted companies, unquoted companies or LLPs.
- Not practical to obtain. You can leave out information that it is not practical to obtain, but the report must say what is missing and why.
- Seriously prejudicial. Directors can withhold the information if disclosing it would, in their opinion, be seriously prejudicial to the company's interests, and the report says so. The guidance expects this to be very rare and warns that the Financial Reporting Council may question it.
- Covered by a group report. A subsidiary included in a parent's group report that meets the SECR rules does not need to report separately.
Where SECR appears and when it is filed
Companies put the SECR disclosures in the directors' report, which the board must approve and a director or the company secretary must sign (section 419 of the Companies Act 2006). The guidance allows the information to go in the strategic report instead if it is of strategic importance, provided the directors' report says this has been done. Charitable companies use their combined directors' and trustees' annual report.
LLPs prepare a separate energy and carbon report. The members must approve it, a designated member signs it on their behalf, and it must name everyone who was a member during the year.
SECR has no deadline of its own. The disclosures are filed at Companies House with the annual accounts, normally within nine months of the year end for a private company and six months for a public company (section 442).
There is no legal requirement for independent assurance of SECR data, although the guidance recommends it. If your accounts are audited, your auditor will still report on whether the directors' report is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in line with the law. Enforcement is light touch: it relies on the Financial Reporting Council's reviews of company reports, and the 2026 post-implementation review found that most, but not all, in-scope organisations comply.
Worked example: a SECR calculation with the 2026 factors
Take an unquoted company in scope for SECR, with £40 million turnover and 300 employees, reporting for its financial year from 1 January to 31 December 2026. Its energy data for the year:
- 400,000 kWh of electricity from its meters
- 250,000 kWh of natural gas (gross calorific value)
- 20,000 litres of diesel (average biofuel blend) for its own vans
DESNZ says to use the factors for the calendar year your data falls in, so 2026 data takes the 2026 factors. Diesel bought in litres must be converted to kWh for the energy figure. The DESNZ fuel properties table gives 10.536 kWh per litre for average biofuel blend diesel on a gross calorific value basis (9.909 on a net basis). The Environmental Reporting Guidelines ask you to make clear which basis you used.
| Source | Activity | 2026 factor (kg CO2e) | Energy (kWh) | Emissions (tCO2e) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased electricity (scope 2, location-based) | 400,000 kWh | 0.13096 per kWh | 400,000 | 52.38 |
| Natural gas (scope 1) | 250,000 kWh | 0.18231 per kWh | 250,000 | 45.58 |
| Diesel in company vans (scope 1) | 20,000 litres | 2.58354 per litre | 210,720 | 51.67 |
| Total | 860,720 | 149.63 |
At 860,720 kWh the company is far above the 40,000 kWh low energy threshold, so it must disclose. Dividing 149.63 tCO2e by £40 million of turnover gives an intensity ratio of 3.74 tCO2e per £1 million of turnover.
Using the right year matters. The 2025 factor for UK electricity was 0.177 kg CO2e per kWh, so the same 400,000 kWh would come to 70.80 tCO2e on 2025 factors against 52.38 tCO2e on 2026 factors. For an April to March year, DESNZ allows either the factors for the calendar year holding most of your data or a blend weighted by the number of days in each year, as long as you say which you used and apply it consistently.
The report then adds the methodology (for example, ‘GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2026, location-based electricity’), a short description of the main energy efficiency measures taken in the year and, from the second year of reporting, last year's figures alongside this year's.
SECR report template: a simple layout
There is no prescribed SECR template. The Environmental Reporting Guidelines include an example table, and stakeholders quoted in the 2026 post-implementation review said the lack of a prescribed template has led to inconsistent placement and formatting. A layout that covers each requirement for an unquoted company or LLP, based on the government example, looks like this:
| Line | What to enter |
|---|---|
| UK energy use (kWh) | Electricity, gas and transport fuel. A split by source is optional |
| Emissions from combustion of gas (scope 1) | tCO2e |
| Emissions from fuel for transport (scope 1) | Company cars, vans and other vehicles you run |
| Emissions from business travel in employee-owned or hire cars (scope 3) | Where the company is responsible for buying the fuel, such as reimbursed business mileage |
| Emissions from purchased electricity (scope 2) | Location-based, tCO2e |
| Total gross emissions | tCO2e |
| Intensity ratio | At least one, for example tCO2e per £1 million of turnover |
| Methodology | The standard and conversion factors used |
| Energy efficiency action | Principal measures in the financial year, or a statement that none were taken |
| Previous year | The same lines for last year, except in your first year of reporting |
Quoted companies need more: global energy use and emissions with the UK and offshore share, scope 1 covering all fuel combustion and the operation of facilities, and scope 2 covering purchased heat, steam and cooling as well as electricity.
Is SECR changing?
Not yet. The rules above still apply, and as of 10 October 2026 no consultation specifically on SECR was open on GOV.UK. Three official documents show where it is heading.
- Post-implementation review, published 26 May 2026. DESNZ concluded that SECR has largely met its objectives and recommended keeping it with amendments. The independent evaluation behind it estimated that SECR contributed to savings in electricity and gas use of 4.5% in 2020 and 6.2% in 2021 among in-scope unquoted companies and LLPs. Ideas to explore include clearer guidance on eligibility thresholds and group boundaries, a standard disclosure template, closer alignment with ISSB, CSRD and TCFD, and light-touch forward-looking elements such as optional targets. The review says these ‘do not represent final decisions’.
- Modernising corporate reporting consultation, 7 September to 30 November 2026. In October 2025 the government said it would remove the requirement to produce a directors' report. This consultation, from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, says SECR disclosures will move as a result, and companies will be free to place them in any section of the first half of the annual report. It also says DESNZ intends to hold a consultation on SECR and the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) later in 2026 to explore longer-term reform.
- UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. In its response to the UK SRS consultation, the government said DESNZ will consider how energy and emissions data reported under UK SRS interacts with SECR, with a view to reducing unnecessary duplication.
What this means for your next report
None of these documents changes the law. The government says statutory instruments to remove the directors' report will be laid before Parliament in due course, and the DESNZ consultation on SECR has not yet been published. Until new regulations are made, report under the current rules.
SECR and Carbon Reduction Plans
If you bid for central government or NHS contracts, you may also need a Carbon Reduction Plan. PPN 006 notes that SECR already requires quoted companies, large unquoted companies and large LLPs to report scope 1 and 2 emissions, and the plan's declaration states that scope 1 and 2 emissions have been reported in line with SECR where required.
A Carbon Reduction Plan goes further than an unquoted company's SECR disclosure. It must include all scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, so sources such as refrigerant gas losses and purchased heat count too, plus five scope 3 categories: upstream transport, waste, business travel, employee commuting and downstream transport. Your SECR data is a good starting point.
Our Carbon Reduction Plan builder turns your energy, travel and waste data into a plan in the PPN 006 format, calculated with the UK Government conversion factors for your reporting year, for £99. If you supply the NHS, read our guide to the NHS Carbon Reduction Plan.
Questions
What is SECR reporting?
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting is a legal requirement for quoted companies, and for unquoted companies and LLPs above the SECR size tests, to disclose their energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, an intensity ratio and energy efficiency action in their annual report. It applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2019.
Who needs to comply with SECR?
All quoted companies, plus unquoted companies and LLPs that exceed two or more of these: turnover of £36 million, a balance sheet total of £18 million and 250 employees. A subsidiary included in a parent's group report that meets the rules does not need to report separately.
What are the SECR thresholds in 2026?
They have not changed since 2019. You are in scope if you have two or more of: turnover above £36 million, a balance sheet total above £18 million and more than 250 employees. The higher Companies Act limits of £54 million and £27 million, which apply to financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, do not apply to SECR.
Does SECR apply to medium-sized companies?
It can. Since the April 2025 changes, a company with turnover above £36 million or a balance sheet total above £18 million can still be medium-sized for its accounts. If it exceeds two of the three SECR tests, it must include SECR disclosures in its directors' report.
What is the low energy user threshold for SECR?
40,000 kWh. An unquoted company or LLP that used 40,000 kWh or less in the UK during the period, or a quoted company that used 40,000 kWh or less in total, can leave out the detailed figures but must state that it has done so for that reason.
Is there an official SECR report template?
No. The law sets what must be disclosed, not the format. The Environmental Reporting Guidelines include an example table, and the 2026 post-implementation review suggested a standard template could be considered in future.
Do SECR figures have to be audited?
No. There is no legal requirement for independent assurance, although government guidance recommends it. Where the accounts are audited, the auditor reports on whether the directors' report is consistent with the financial statements.
Which conversion factors should I use for SECR?
Government guidance points to the UK Government GHG conversion factors for company reporting. Use the set for the calendar year your data falls in, so 2026 factors for 2026 data. For April to March years, DESNZ allows the majority or blended approach, as long as you state which you used.
When is the SECR deadline?
SECR has no separate deadline. The disclosures sit in the directors' report, which is filed with the accounts: normally within nine months of the year end for a private company and six months for a public company.
Is SECR being scrapped?
No. The 2026 post-implementation review recommended keeping SECR with amendments. The government plans to remove the directors' report, which would move SECR disclosures elsewhere in the annual report, and DESNZ has said it intends to consult on SECR and ESOS later in 2026.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk: The Companies (Directors' Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/1155 (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Schedule 7, Part 7A (unquoted companies) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Schedule 7, Part 7 (quoted companies) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008, Part 5A (energy and carbon report) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: The Companies (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1303 (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Explanatory memorandum to SI 2024/1303 (paragraph 6.7 on SECR) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 465 (companies qualifying as medium-sized) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 467 (companies excluded from being treated as medium-sized) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 385 (quoted and unquoted companies) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 419 (approval and signing of directors' report) (checked 10 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 442 (period allowed for filing accounts) (checked 10 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Environmental reporting guidelines, including Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requirements (updated March 2019) (checked 10 October 2026)
- DESNZ: 2026 post-implementation review of the SECR regulations 2018 (published 26 May 2026) (checked 10 October 2026)
- DESNZ: Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regulations, evaluation (published 29 January 2026) (checked 10 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Modernising corporate reporting consultation (7 September to 30 November 2026) (checked 10 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Government response to the consultation on UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (checked 10 October 2026)
- DESNZ: Greenhouse gas reporting, conversion factors 2026 (flat file v1.2 and full set, including fuel properties) (checked 10 October 2026)
- Cabinet Office: PPN 006, Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts (checked 10 October 2026)
Get updates when the rules or prices change
One email when a new official figure or rule change is published.